Listening to the Universe
by imdoingthiswhy
Summary: A new outlook for Castle and Beckett, to give them a little help in facing the ugliness it looks like Sophia is ready to rain down on them. Won't happen, but wishful thinking can be fun.
1. Chapter 1

Listening to the Universe

Being trapped in a car that was sinking to the bottom of the Hudson River hadn't been on their list of expectations when Castle and Beckett left their respective homes that morning, but again they found themselves trapped together in an unforgiving and life-threatening situation. Together, they fought their way out of the car and through the frigid water. Holding on the their reputations for being the survivors that, by now, everyone had come to expect them to be, they had managed to drag themselves onto the dock and now fought to recover. They leaned on one another, each adorned with scrapes, scratches, bruises, and a couple of cuts apiece, dripping wet, freezing, having difficulty breathing…but alive, and grateful for it.

There was a black SUV farther down the dock, but before the exhausted pair had fully managed to breathe evenly, a police car appeared, followed closely by an EMS crew, and the SUV turned around and moved away. One of the uniforms who got out of the cruiser explained that a woman across the river had seen what happened and called it in. They laughingly told them they were lucky the old snoop had her binoculars pointed in their direction today. Apparently they heard from her often. The medical crew took them to the emergency vehicle, where they were wrapped in blankets, checked over, and in spite of their protests, taken to the closest hospital.

Several hours later, Martha had brought Castle clean, dry clothes, Lanie had done the same for Beckett, and they were both being discharged. Neither Castle nor Beckett wanted to be apart, but Kate wasn't ready to admit that quite yet…maybe to Castle, but not with others watching, and they were definitely watching.

Martha had called the car service to take her to the hospital – a place she had spent entirely too much time lately. Wishing her son could be happy with a different pastime, she pointed the car out to him as Lanie was directing Beckett in the opposite direction.

Rick stopped the group, caught Beckett's arm, and turned to his mother and Lanie. "Give us a minute, ladies?"

Neither woman was entirely surprised by the change in their plans, so they went and stood beside Rick's car to talk together while Castle put his hand on Beckett's lower back and guided her aside to an open stretch of sidewalk.

"Come home with us, Kate. You can't really want to be at your apartment alone tonight"

"Rick…."

"We could both have died…again. I don't know what you need, but I need you where I can see you. And I don't want you to be alone."

"Your family is going to worry about you. They need to see _you_…know you're safe." She looked down and laced her fingers together nervously. "They'll see me as the reason you're in another situation like this, and I don't want to have to watch Alexis hating me again."

"That isn't how they'll see it. I've talked to Alexis…and Mother. They understand now that this is my own decision…and not entirely built around you. So, the truth. Do you want to be with us tonight?"

Kate stalled for a few seconds before she finally looked away and threw her hands out slightly to the side. "Yes." There was another long pause. "I need you where I can see you, too."

Relieved, he reached out to stroke her upper arm briefly. "Then, say goodnight to Lanie, and get in the car. She'll understand."

Lanie and Martha had been watching the exchange between Rick and Kate, and speculating as to what was being said.

"I don't know what they're talking about, but that thing with her hands is one of Kate's tells. Whatever her argument was, Castle just won."

"Then I suspect you'll be driving back alone."

"I suspect you're right Mrs. R."

"Martha, darling. Call me Martha. It makes me feel a little younger."

"They're coming back. Looks like you might be right."

"Lanie…" Kate started.

"You're going home with writer-boy, right?" Lanie answered.

"Yeah."

"Good. You need him a lot more than you need me…and I'd be surprised if he didn't need you, too."

"Thanks for the clothes, Lanie…and for being here."

"You're my girl, honey," she said as she gave Kate a big hug. "You know I'll be here when you need me. You'd do the same for me. Goodnight, Martha." She started toward her car, then turned and walked backward a few steps, pointing at Castle. "You take care of her," she said sternly.

"I will," he answered, looking down at Kate and draping an arm over her shoulders to turn her toward the car before she had time to change her mind.

Lanie walked on toward her car, smiling and mumbling to herself, "I hope this time that girl finally comes to her senses."

At the same time, Castle let Martha and Kate seat themselves, then he got in and instructed his driver to take them back to the loft.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Victoria Gates answered her phone late in the afternoon and was shocked at what she heard. Not only were Beckett and Castle shoved off a dock and into the water, again in a life and death situation, but a reporter had gotten wind of it. Reporters were like rats as far as she was concerned. Where you could see one, there were probably ten more lurking in the shadows. The circumstances in general would have attracted enough attention, but the fact that a well-known author had been involved would certainly bring the media out of the woodwork.

She was on the phone with the Chief of Detectives' secretary in seconds, hearing herself saying, "I don't care who he's in a meeting with, I need to talk to him now!"

"Captain Gates, I…" the woman started in a haughty tone.

"My best detective was a victim of an attempted murder this afternoon; we nearly lost Beckett and a civilian who was allowed on the same assignment; we have a police vehicle at the bottom of the Hudson; at least one member of the press already knows about some of it; and the civilian is Richard Castle, which means even the entertainment reporters will be out. Two of my people almost died today because they were on a need-to-know assignment, and we didn't know how to provide them back-up. They weren't free to call on the people they trust. Now, whatever that man is doing, tell him to drop it long enough to let me in on what's going on, because I need to know! And if somebody doesn't tell me something right now, I'm sending every reporter who contacts me to you…with a detailed set of directions right to your office door."

"Let me see what I can do," came the annoyed reply.

In a few minutes, the Chief of Detectives was on the line telling Captain Gates that he would fill her in on as much as he could if she would meet him at his office. She agreed to come directly there, and left the precinct immediately. The secretary had no trouble identifying her as the angry woman who had just called, because she entered the office with all the social charm of an active thunder cloud. "Captain Victoria Gates," she announced. "I have an appointment."

"Yes, ma'am," the middle-aged woman answered, finding the captain even more intimidating in person than on the phone.

After an enlightening but not entirely satisfactory discussion with her boss, Gates called the station to give instructions about answering reporters with, "No comment," until she was available the next morning.

Leaving the parking garage, she turned her car in a direction she never expected to be going that night.

xxxxx

When they heard the doorbell, Castle and Beckett had been at the loft just long enough for Alexis to have found clothes for Kate to sleep in and for Martha to have put together something to eat.

"Go ahead, Castle told them. I'll get it. He opened the door and was amazed to find Captain Gates there.

"Captain?" Castle asked in surprise. "Come in. We were about to eat. Would you like to join us?"

"Thank you, but no. I'll be brief. Are the two of you all right?" she asked brusquely, looking across the room to see Beckett rising from her place at the table to meet them at the door.

"As all right as they can expect to be after nearly drowning in the Hudson," Martha remarked drily from where she sat.

"The hospital released us," Kate assured her. "No lasting problems that we know of."

"Cuts, bruises, sore muscles, exhaustion…relief to still be breathing...worrying about nightmares?" the captain answered much more quietly, actually seeming to be sympathetic.

"That about covers it," Kate admitted.

"They left you in a bad place. Ryan and Esposito have been cleared to back you up if you need it. They know not to ask too many questions. You only need to tell them enough that they won't have to go into something blind. They trust you."

"How did you manage that?" Kate asked, surprised.

"I gave the Chief of Detectives a piece of my mind and threatened to send all the reporters to his office. I still don't know exactly who your orders come from, but I got enough concessions to give you better back-up from the twelfth. Nobody should withhold information I need to keep my people safe when somebody is trying to kill them."

"Does that mean I'm included in your people?" Castle couldn't help asking.

Gates looked at him as she usually did. Her voice sounded grudging, but her eyes gave her away before she finished saying, "If I'm stuck with you, I'm not letting you get killed on my watch if I can help it."

"I appreciate that more than I can say," Castle answered.

"I've been promised help with the publicity problems, but tomorrow, Mr. Castle, if you have any additional advice on handling the press, I wouldn't be opposed to hearing it. I'm sure they'll be swarming the precinct like insects."

"I'll get in touch with my publicist and do what I can to help," he promised.

"I appreciate that enough not to dwell on why Detective Beckett is here instead of at her own apartment tonight. That was where I started."

"I…" Kate began hesitantly.

"We have plenty of room here," Castle cut in, "My family cares about Detective Beckett, too, and I didn't want my partner to be alone after the ordeal we went through today. We might even try to keep her another few days…until things settle a little more."

"Very chivalrous of you. I'm sure she appreciates that," Gates responded, and to their surprise, not at all accusingly; then she reached out and gave Beckett's upper arm a gentle squeeze. "I'm glad you're all right, Kate. I'm sorry the two of you were left on your own. It's inexcusable." Giving Kate's arm a little pat in parting, she glanced back and forth between them and added, "I'll say goodnight now. I'm sure all of you could use some rest. These things are stressful for the family, too."

"Thank you for taking the time to do this in person, sir," Kate answered.

Castle opened the door for the captain and set the alarm and dead bolt after she left.

"I'm her people now? You think I'm finally growing on her?" he asked Kate with a smile as they returned to Martha and Alexis in the kitchen.

"Maybe you're an acquired taste, Castle," she teased. "It took a little time before you grew on me, too, remember?"

"But I did, right?" He bumped her shoulder with his.

"Yeah, you did." She bumped him back.

Martha and Alexis watched how natural the action between the couple seemed now, and they both smiled. Things were changing.

Rick and Kate seated themselves at the table, finally getting around to eating. Hardly a word was spoken by either of them until they had finished the meal, neither of them realizing how hungry they were until they had taken their first bites. Alexis and Martha had cleaned up their own dishes and the cooking utensils while Kate and Rick ate, giving them a little quiet time to settle down after the captain left. Their backs were turned, putting things back in the cabinets.

Kate looked up at Rick across the corner of the table, obviously exhausted. "You okay?" he mouthed, trying to keep any further concern under his family's radar.

"Getting there," she barely whispered just before the rest of Rick's family turned and joined them.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"What was the captain's visit about?" Martha finally asked, her curiosity getting the best of her.

"Checking on us, explaining a few changes as of tomorrow. She's trying to take care of us," Castle told her."

"Where was that when you needed it this afternoon?" Alexis asked sharply.

"Honey, in an investigation, we ran across something someone had been trying to find for a long time. The chief of detectives allowed the two of us on a case that was being run on a need-to-know basis. And before you think too far in Kate's direction, you need to know this one had just as much to do with contacts I had made before I even knew her. We couldn't talk to the team we usually work with; but the captain raised Cain with her boss on our behalf, and as of tomorrow, we have the guys with us again. That's all you get, and you can't talk about it. Understood?"

"Okay." "Got it." came from Alexis and Martha simultaneously.

"Thank you," Castle answered.

"From me, too," Kate added. "For everything."

Martha placed a hand over Kate's. "No thanks needed, dear. After something like this, we don't want you to be by yourself any more than Richard does. And we love having you here. Right, Alexis?" Martha asked, patting Kate's hand then leaning back and moving her hand away.

"Right," Alexis answered from where she stood behind her father, her arms draped around his neck, chin resting on his shoulder. His arm was behind him, holding one of her shoulders, his hand holding her neck in reassurance. "I need to get to bed. Gotta be at work early tomorrow," she said next to Castle's ear. "I know this internship isn't your favorite idea, Dad, but I really like what I'm doing; and Dr. Parrish is a terrific teacher."

"No, it isn't my favorite idea; but Lanie is very good at her job, and I can't imagine she'd seem so pleased to have you working with her if you weren't doing well. I'm proud of you. If this is what you want to do, you're in good hands, and I won't try to talk you out of it." He turned his head enough to leave a kiss on her cheek. "I love you, Pumpkin."

She gave his neck an extra squeeze and kissed him on the cheek before releasing him and standing. "I love you, too, Daddy. I'm so glad you're both okay," she told him, and planted another kiss on the opposite cheek. "G'night Kate," she added, giving Kate a hug, too. "I'm glad you're here."

Kate returned the hug. "'Night, Little Castle. Thanks for having me."

"Night, Grams."

Martha dramatically waved her off toward the stairs.

"How is she doing with this?" Kate asked softly when she knew Alexis was out of earshot. "I worry about her."

"She's held up to what happened pretty well this time. It probably helped that by the time she got the news, Richard was here and in reasonably good shape. Even in the face of seeing him intact and virtually unharmed, though, I know she had moments of relief that she was seeing him again at all," Martha answered.

"Those were the moments she wrapped herself around me and held on for a while," Castle offered. "She hardly ever calls me 'Daddy' anymore, and I don't always get one goodnight kiss these days, let alone two.

"I admit to feeling the same way right now," Martha responded, patting his arm then giving it a squeeze. "I want to call you Ricky, and get you ice cream, and tuck you in…but I'm sure that would embarrass you in front of Kate. Truth be told, I even want to tuck Kate in and kiss her forehead. How in the world do the two of you keep getting into these things?" she asked.

"Bad luck?" her son asked more than answered. "I don't know, Mother. We certainly don't do it intentionally.

"Well, I think the pair of you must be part cat, and I beg both of you…try not to use up that ninth life until after I'm no longer here to watch. And before that happens, please try to work out whatever this is between you. You would both be so much happier, and I'd like to live long enough to see it."

"Mother," Castle warned calmly as Kate quietly looked down at her hands.

"Sorry if I'm stepping on toes, but you're adults, and you need to face it. Before long, if the two of you don't start paying more attention to that elephant in the room, he's going to trample both of you."

"Mother," he growled through gritted teeth.

She stood, walked behind them and kissed the tops of their heads on her way toward the stairs. She took a couple of steps in that direction and then turned back, not quite finished. "Do something. Talk to each other," she insisted with one of her hand flourishes. "Somebody kiss somebody. Make some progress before it's too late."

"Mother!"

"All right. All right," she answered, hands in front of her shoulders in surrender. "I'm going to bed now, too. Goodnight, children." With a little wave over her shoulder, she called out, "Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"That would cover a lot of ground," Castle grumbled under his breath.

"I heard that," his mother answered from halfway up the stairs, sounding completely unruffled.

In spite of feeling some embarrassment, Kate couldn't help smiling.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"Want some coffee?" Castle asked, trying to alleviate some of the discomfort his mother had just created.

"When do I not?"

"Good point," he said with a grin as he started the coffee maker and set two mugs out on the counter. Before he did anything else, he called Paula's number and left her a message to call him at home as soon as she reached the office in the morning, regardless of the hour.

Just as he sat back down, there was a soft knock at the door.

"Can't people leave us alone?" he groaned. "It's been a long day."

There was another soft knock as he walked toward the door. He looked through the peephole, and sighed, turning off the alarm and unlocking the deadbolt. Opening the door, he all but growled, "Sophia and one of the hoodies. To what do we owe the honor of this late night visit? I hope you don't intend to haul us off somewhere again because, this time, we're not going without a fight. You may not have heard, but we had a rough afternoon. And keep your voices down. I don't want my family..."

"My information didn't say that Detective Beckett was living here," Sofia interrupted.

"Not that it's any of your business," Kate hissed sharply as she joined them at the door.

"Look, I'm sorry about this afternoon. We had people watching you from a good distance. We sent help, but the police and the medics were there faster than we expected. I'm glad you're okay, but we need to know what you found out."

Castle and Beckett took turns telling Sophia the little bit they had learned from their informant and the circumstances around his death, ending with his getting out of the car and being shot.

"So you got him killed before we could get the rest of the information."

"You… You practically kidnapped a New York homicide detective and a writer and pressed them into service to do your job because it's _illegal_ for you to do it. And now you're complaining? We were almost killed this afternoon, too…trying to do your job for you." Kate was livid, but she was keeping her voice down because she didn't want anybody else to wake up to find the CIA in their living room.

"If I'd known you had this kind of relationship, I wouldn't have bothered to ask. I'd have known you'd be too distracted to get the job done."

"Since you're determined to make it your business, they've made up the guest room for me because they were worried about me after this afternoon. If you're going to press us into service, you should be better informed. You knew exactly who you were getting and exactly who you were setting us up against, and you're unhappy with your own judgment. So what now?"

"Now?" Castle interrupted, "Now you get out of my home," he informed Sofia. Tomorrow, if you insist, you can haul us down to whatever godforsaken place it is you keep taking us to; but for now, you know everything we nearly died to find for you." Firmly, he stood with Beckett behind him and told them both, "Get out. And don't wake my family when you leave."

Sophia, still angry, turned and snatched the door open, motioned her assistant toward the hall, and walked out fuming. Rick had put his hand on the edge of the door so she couldn't slam it. He didn't think she'd want to call that much attention to herself, but he wasn't taking the chance. His family had already had to worry enough that day. He again set the alarm and turned the deadbolt, then he returned to the kitchen, obviously still angry. Kate followed and watched as he poured the coffee, his hands not quite as steady as before.

"You okay?" she asked.

"She had no right to talk to you that way."

"Her case is falling apart, and she's angry that she can't work it herself."

"You're defending her?"

"Not really. I can't stand her, but I know where she's coming from."

"I know, but...I'm sorry I backed you into this corner," he apologized as he put their coffees on the table and sat down. "I should have asked before I tried to commit both of us."

"Don't beat yourself up. I would have given in eventually," Kate insisted, playing with the handle of her coffee cup. "She knew you'd want in; and she knew I'd be less excited about it, but that I'd want to follow up what we had legitimately found on our own. It was our case. In my less than humble opinion, she's a manipulative witch who couldn't care too much less what happens to us. I think she's perfectly willing for us to be collateral damage if it comes to that, especially now that her witness was killed on our watch."

"Aw, come on, Kate. Tell me what you really think," he said with a tight smile that didn't reflect as much humor as usual. "I'd like to think you're wrong, but…" There was a pause as he took a sip of his coffee, looking pensive. "And she still had no right to talk to you like that."

"You sound like she wasn't including both of us. She's gone now, Rick. We can deal with her tomorrow. At least we know the captain is in our corner. That's what counts in the long run. Let's try to calm down…enjoy our coffee. There's been enough stress today."

He looked over at Kate, and she smiled, which made him smile. They were good together.

t wasn't quite ten yet, and Rick's mind was still spinning. He needed to enlist Paula to help the captain with the publicity problems brought on by his presence. He owed the captain that. Then they were likely to be hustled off to face whatever Sofia threw at them tomorrow. He'd seen Sofia angry about work before, and he didn't relish what was likely to be coming. But, at the moment, Kate was beside him, smiling, and he felt the tension starting to subside. They sat sipping their coffee in silence, enjoying the thought that all the traumatic parts of their day were bound to have left with Sofia. They could relax now…get some well-earned rest.

Rick finally broke the silence. "Sophia isn't the only one who spoke out of turn. Mother wasn't exactly tactful, either. I'm sorry, Kate," he said softly, resting his elbows on the table, hands clasped, not looking at her. "I didn't intend to bring you here to embarrass you."

"It's okay, Rick. She means well. And being mothered now and then isn't so bad."

"You're defending my mother, too?"

"It's a lot easier to defend your mother. She loves you and wants what she thinks will make you happy."

After another few moments of thoughtful silence, Rick asked, "Do you ever think the universe is trying to tell us something?"

"The universe?"

"We keep ending up trapped together in these awful places – bombs, freezers, handcuffs and tigers, car in the river. Maybe the universe is determined for us to be together, and since it can't get us there any other way…"

"It keeps trying to kill us?"

"Or keeps making us _think_ we're going to die so we'll eventually figure out what to do with this thing going on between us."

"You think we're that important to the universe?"

"Maybe. It keeps letting us live."

"So, if we figure all this out, the universe might go easier on us? Is that what you're saying?"

He reached over and pulled her hand toward him, holding it in both of his. "Maybe we should at least do enough to try to appease it?" he suggested.

"And how would you suggest we go about that?" she asked smiling, offering him a glimmer of hope.

"Give ourselves a chance. Start small, not moving too fast, and build on it. We won't tell anybody else. We see if we can make it work and let them find out on their own when it does."

Kate cupped her other hand over his. "_When_? Not _if _?"

He looked up and caught her soft smile and returned one of his own. "What can I say? I'm an optimist. We lived. You're staying here tonight, and I didn't have to kidnap you to make it happen. My daughter hugged you and my mother kissed you on the head before they went to bed, and you didn't seem uncomfortable with it. We're sitting here, quietly talking at the kitchen table while the family sleeps. I'm holding your hand…you're even holding mine. We're both smiling. It's working so far," he answered with a little twinkle in his eye."

"Looks like it is," she agreed. "It may not take care of the elephant in the room…definitely bigger than a bunny, though."

"A bunny? Really? Kate Beckett even thought of a bunny?" he chuckled, not relinquishing his hold on her hand.

She bumped his knee with hers and laughed softly. "So, if we're not moving too fast, where does your plan take us from here?"

He shifted their hands as he spoke, running his thumb across her fingers. "Give us permission to hope. Let me be in love with you out loud…well, not loud for everybody else to hear. Just for you to hear. Share my family…you need a family to go to sometimes, and you can see that they're willing. Let me hold you when you're really tired, when your mind is fighting with you, when you're overjoyed and just need to hug somebody…or just because I want to hug you and it feels good. Let me kiss you now and then? Let's call the dinners and movies dates. I'm not looking for anybody else anymore. Are you?"

"No. Nobody else," she admitted.

"So maybe our timing is finally right?"

"Maybe it is. I might be ready to try."

"I'd like that. I'd really like that, Kate." He hesitated a moment, then leaned over and kissed her gently.

"I'm really tired right now. Could we try the hugging and holding, too?"

"The couch is more comfortable for that." He stood, and she stood to follow him. "Be right back. I'm still a little chilly. I'll get us a blanket."

In less than a full minute, he was back with the comforter from his bed, and he dropped it at one end of the couch. Plopping himself at the other end, he adjusted the coffee table, propped his feet on it, slid into a comfortable position, and opened his arms. Kate eased into his lap, wrapped one arm around his shoulders, laid the other at his chest, and rested her head on his shoulder. Having drawn the comforter over them and wrapped his arms around her, he kissed her forehead before he closed his eyes and dropped his cheek to the top of her head.

Tomorrow was an entire night away, and all the related problems could wait until morning.

"I like this," he whispered against her hair.

"Me, too," she mumbled, pressing a kiss on his neck before they both relaxed into their newly agreed upon understanding…and slept.


End file.
